


Sleep (Status)

by prompreg



Series: Status Effects [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birth in Distress, Childbirth, Gen, Pregnancy, Trans Character, Trans Noctis, Trans Pregnancy, cw for an episiotomy, graphic childbirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 02:54:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompreg/pseuds/prompreg
Summary: Noctis is hit with Sleep and cannot be woken up, even though childbirth.==Originally posted on Tumblr; I was inspired by an anon who mentioned Noct giving birth while asleep. In an attempt to figure out how something like that might be plausible, this was created!





	Sleep (Status)

In the end, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that they’d avoided battles, it didn’t matter that they’d stopped taking hunts, it didn’t matter that they’d concocted and committed to disguises. For the last few months of Noct’s pregnancy, they’d hidden and avoided and pretended, selfishly resting and prolonging the safety of the world in favor of the safety of their king and unborn prince. But, somehow, even with all the painstaking care they’d taken, they still managed to get caught by surprise.

The lack of hunts had left them with dwindling funds and, even though Noct was 9 months pregnant, they were still technically homeless, unless they could count the RV that Cindy had fixed up for them. Finding the gil for it had been difficult, even with Cindy’s impressive discount, and leaving the Regalia parked in her garage had been difficult in a different way, even though it wouldn’t be forever. Trading the Regalia in for an RV had served to provide them with more reliable shelter, most notably a bed for Noct, but also helped their disguise. Without the distinguishable Regalia to give up their position, they found MT dropships all but non-existent.

But even with all that they’d changed to keep both Noct and his secret safe, they couldn’t have accounted for everything. They couldn’t have known that the fluffy creature Noct gently toed away from their camp would get so spooked, or that it would spray him right in the face with a gas that knocked him out cold before he could so much as call for help.

It happened so fast, even Gladio’s quick reflexes almost weren’t enough to save him from a hard fall. He caught Noct just inches from the ground, and lowered him far more gently the rest of the way. With Noct’s stomach so big and his weight much different, it was a struggle to pick him up, though Gladio managed a bridal carry with some effort.

“Ignis, we got a problem!” He called as he shouldered his way into the RV. Ignis was already inside, moving a pot off of the stove, and the moment he saw Noct he rushed to the bed. Gladio laid Noct down upon it quickly. 

“What happened?” Ignis and Prompto asked as one, Ignis as he stooped over Noct’s prone form and Prompto from the door, clearly already stressed by the raised voices.

“He got sprayed by something… some animal I’d never seen before. Noct went down right away.”

“Heartbeat is fine,” Ignis said, medical instruments summoned and already scattered about the bed, “Breathing is normal, pupils react to light.” He turned to Gladio, mouth drawn into a thin line. “What did the creature look like?”

“Small and white, looked completely harmless until it took him down.”

“And the fall?” Ignis asked.

“Caught him.” 

“Do we have smelling salts?” Ignis asked, and Prompto appeared beside him to quickly press a vial into his hand. 

Ignis held them under Noct’s nose but even moments later the smell hadn’t brought him back. Neither did calling his name, gently shaking him, firmly shaking him, pressing something cold to his skin, or anything else they could think of. 

“Thoughts?” Gladio asked Ignis in a low voice once the two had stepped away to the other side of the camper. Prompto was still sitting with Noct, playing loud music from his phone and petting his hair.

“My guess is a deep sleep caused by that creature, akin to a bout of confusion. Without knowing the creature it’s hard to say how long it might last. We might need to bring him to a doctor.”

“Hard to stay disguised when doctors are taking blood,” Gladio growled, frustrated, “but we shouldn’t risk anything. Look at him, kid’s so pregnant he’s about to pop.”

“Uh, guys?” Prompto called in that moment. The concern in his voice drew the two back immediately. A quick glance showed the change; Noct’s pants were suddenly drenched, and Ignis quickly leaned down as if to smell them despite Prompto’s noise of disgust.

“It’s not urine,” he said as he straightened, no small amount of stress in his voice, “I believe his water has broken.”

==

It turned out labor didn’t seem like much when you couldn’t see the person’s reactions. Noct laid perfectly still, even as they all puttered about around him, folding up the chairs outside and putting water on the stove to boil and collecting as many clean towels as they could. Childbirth was unpredictable, moreso while the laboring person was unconscious, and though a hospital would have been ideal, Ignis wasn’t sure how much time they had. 

Better to be prepared than not, he figured, so they stripped Noct of his clothes. With nothing to cover his stomach, the contracting of his muscles finally became apparent. It was so strange to see them jump beneath his skin, especially when Noct did nothing to react to it.

“Spread his legs,” Ignis instructed, as he slid his hands into latex gloves. Gladio and Prompto each took a side, holding them wide open. Ignis maneuvered a clean towel underneath Noct’s hips and then pressed two fingers inside.

“What are you doing?” Prompto asked, eyes wide and voice a little weak.

“Checking how far along he is,” Ignis said, a frown on his face as he pulled his hand back and replaced it with four fingers. “He’s almost fully dilated already, we likely won’t make it to the hospital.”

“Isn’t labor supposed to take hours?”

“His cervix could have been softening up before he was sprayed. Or something in whatever that creature sprayed him with is accelerating labor. How it’s come to be isn’t important right now. Noct’s body will attempt to dispel the child with or without his help. We must be ready.”

‘Getting ready’ for childbirth was never easy, but especially not in their circumstance. They piled a nearby table with the water, towels, potions and medical supplies they gathered and propped Noct up a bit better with pillows. When Noct’s abdominal muscles would jump beneath his skin, Ignis would time it, and then the time it took for the next contraction. 

All the while, Noct laid perfectly still, even as Ignis placed fingers back inside him again. The reaction was immediate as Ignis removed them, surprise clear on his face.

“The baby is already engaged in his birth canal. Prompto, get behind him and keep his legs spread.”

It took some effort to get behind Noct on the bed but he managed, with Gladio’s help, to prop Noct against his chest and reach forward for his legs. Prompto’s arm strength wasn’t the best of the group, but he was able to hold them back with minimal strain.

“Gladio, I need you to provide pressure. When his muscles next contract, press on the top of his stomach in a downward motion to help things along. We have no way to gauge if the child was affected by the toxin, we must deliver it promptly.” 

Gladio hesitated, clearly fearing inadvertently harming Noct, but when his abdominal muscles next contracted Gladio did as instructed, albeit with a quiet curse.

Ignis, perched between Noct’s spread legs, placed fingers on either end of Noct’s labia and helped to spread him through the contraction, and then the next. Prompto couldn’t watch as Gladio pressed down on his stomach with each contraction, and instead leaned his ear close to Noct’s face to catch any noises of pain. Noct’s head lolled each time Gladio pushed on his stomach, but he otherwise didn’t react.

“I see the head,” Ignis announced after a few tense contractions, his fingers still stretching Noct’s labia as best he could. Each contraction forced the child further down, helped along by the downward pressure of Gladio’s hands. Allowing nature to take its course would probably make the transition easier on Noct’s body, but the unnatural speed of labor in the face of the unknown toxin made Ignis fear for the child. Time was undoubtedly of the essence. But, a few contractions later, the child’s head was stuck at a partial crown. Noct’s labia hadn’t stretched enough to accommodate the child so soon, and would either tear or pause labor as it took its time to stretch. 

Ignis reached into their medical bag and handed Gladio a pair of sharp medical scissors. 

“Place these in the boiling water for five minutes, please.”

“What are you doing with those?” Prompto asked, voice shaky as he watched Gladio nod wordlessly and hurry off. 

“Noct will badly tear at this pace without some help,” Ignis said. “I plan to cut him to prevent that as much as possible.”

Prompto looked stricken, as if he wanted to protest but wasn’t sure what to say. Ignis took a deep breath and forced his expression and voice to soften. The entire situation was hard on them all, but Prompto seemed to be handling it the least well. Of course, Prompto was always finely attuned to Noct’s wellbeing and had the least amount of experience dealing with medical emergencies.

“Potions will heal a clean cut much easier and I will be as precise as I can.”

“Okay,” Prompto said at last, delayed and quiet as Gladio returned and placed the heated metal in Ignis’ hands, his own expression unreadable.

Ignis took in another deep breath to steady himself. Noct’s abdominal muscles jumped again and he waited the contraction out, eyeing the child’s head closely. When it didn’t move, and Noct’s muscles had relaxed, Ignis slid two fingers around the crown of the baby’s head and pulled the skin of Noct’s perineum taut. Prompto quickly looked away.

Another deep breath and Ignis slid the scissors into place. He couldn’t help but glance up at Noct’s face one last time, searching for any sign of consciousness, and when he found none he made the cut. Noct didn’t react at all.

“Perineum is cut,” Ignis announced as he discarded the soiled scissors on the table. Prompto’s outward breath was audible. “Gladio, on the next contraction resume the pushes. Prompto, please lift Noct’s legs a little higher.”

The next time Noct’s muscles contracted, only moments later, they both did as instructed. With Noct’s skin cut the child had more room to move and, already, Ignis could see more of its head emerging. He continued to help stretch Noct’s labia around the crown as much as he could, and avoided the cut flesh as he worked. All of their efforts combined produced the rest of the child’s head in just two more contractions.

“The head is out,” Ignis said, “The skin seems to be a good color, but refrain from pushing on the next contraction.” Instead, he swiped fingers beside the child’s head to feel for a cord. When he was confident there wasn’t one, he nodded to Gladio to resume.

As Gladio pressed on Noct’s stomach, Ignis gently eased the child’s head down until a shoulder was visible, and then pulled up until the other had popped free. One more contraction later, and Ignis was able to pull the baby the rest of the way out.

“He’s out,” Ignis announced, already reaching for clean towels and stimulating the child’s chest. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gladio helping ease Noct’s legs down.

The entire camper as quiet as they waited for Noct’s child to cry, holding their breaths until it was apparent the baby had found his. Ignis tried not to become too frantic as he pulled the baby into his hands and rubbed its back, waiting desperately for any noise.

The first cry was piercing, but immediately dissolved all the tension in the room.

“Thank the Six,” Prompto said, breathless with relief.

The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity. Ignis used a new pair of boiled scissors to cut the cord, and allowed Gladio to bundle up the baby as he pulled the afterbirth from Noct’s slackened hole and then poured a potion over the abused skin. When that was done, he left Noct to Prompto and the baby to Gladio as he pulled the soiled gloves from his hands and got behind the wheel of the RV.

Later, when both Noct and baby had been deposited into the capable hands of the doctors at the hospital, Ignis let himself quietly break down for just a moment as Gladio and Prompto sat on either side of him and held his hands, no longer covered in Noct’s blood. And later still, when they were allowed in to see them and found Noct’s eyes open and the baby in his arms, the few tears the three shed were all relief and gratitude.


End file.
